The '60s were an heady time for space exploration. President John F. Kennedy fired the starter's pistol in the space race with a rousing speech about America's manifest space destiny: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. ... " Even so, by the time Neil Armstrong ventured his giant step, the moon was old news. Three years earlier, Major Matt Mason beat him to the punch. He and his intrepid team lived the lunar life, handling hostile ETs, doing America proud.

A 44-year-old Orlando driver was arrested Saturday after investigators said he was drunk when he caused a rear-end crash that killed a St. Cloud man. Eduardo Medina was southbound in the left lane on John Young Parkway at Deerfield Boulevard about 2 a.m. when his 2014 Hyundai Genesis hit the back of a 2009 Kia Spectra that was stopping for a red light, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The Kia driver, Luis Gil, 57, was pronounced dead at Florida Hospital Kissimmee. Gil's car was pushed into two other cars that were in the middle lane and also had slowed.

A 22-year-old St. Cloud man faces a slew of charges after he allegedly struck an unmarked police cruiser and damaged other property while trying to flee from officers in his vehicle during a drug bust Thursday. Michael J. Smith also struck a resident's vehicle before crashing into a vacant duplex at 501 Columbia Ave. He tried to run away but was captured by at least one police K-9 unit. He is being held at the Osceola County Jail on the following charges: armed trafficking of cocaine and Oxycodone, two counts of aggravated assault on law-enforcement-officers, fleeing and eluding law enforcement officers, carrying a concealed weapon, resisting law enforcement officers with violence, driving while drivers license suspended and two counts of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.

On Nov. 7, 1991, Earvin Johnson stood at a podium inside The Forum, his second home. It was the place where his otherworldly abilities on the hardwood with the Los Angeles Lakers had shaken the basketball world. That day, he again would shake the world. Not with the roundball sleight-of-hand that earned the All-Star his moniker, "Magic," but rather a dumbfounding declaration that, like his no-look passes, seemed to come out of nowhere. "Because of the HIV virus that I have obtained, I will have to retire from the Lakers today.

A 21-year-old man, who St. Cloud Police say barricaded himself inside a home after fighting with his girlfriend, was charged with battery and false imprisonment early Wednesday. Police responded to a call about dating violence in the 1100 block of Maryland Avenue around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to an incident report. By the time they arrived at the house, Michael Steven Chism had locked himself inside the home. The St. Cloud Police Department's SWAT and Hostage Negotiations teams made several attempts to force Chism to surrender, but he didn't budge, the report said..

Sheriff's detectives in Osceola County have arrested a St. Cloud man accused of sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl. The girl told deputies that Joseph Arnold Hartman, 59, locked her in a garage while her mother was at work and also had molested or raped her on several occasions in the past year, the Sheriff's Office said in a press release. When detectives questioned Hartman, he "initially denied the allegations," but eventually admitted "he might have touched [the girl] inappropriately on several occasions," a sheriff's spokeswoman said.

A 60-year-old man was killed when he crashed into a pole in Osceola County on Monday, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Troopers say the St. Cloud resident, whose name has not yet been released, was westbound on Deer Run Road approaching Crosley Avenue when his Nissan pickup truck went off the road "for an unknown reason" about 2 p.m. The pickup struck a concrete power pole, troopers said. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Troopers are still investigating the cause of the crash.

A St. Cloud man is facing child pornography charges after detectives discovered explicit images on computers they tracked to his home, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office. Jesse Marshall Varney, 25, was charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography following a months-long investigation that began when the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children provided information to sheriff's detectives. Deputies found a number of illegal images were being downloaded by computers tracked to Varney's Illinois Avenue home, said Twis Lizasuain, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.

Anthony Guglielmini was found guilty Wednesday of manslaughter in the death two years ago of Ashley Nicole Jung in St. Cloud. Guglielmini, 21, will serve 15 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed by law, according to the Osceola County Clerk of Court's office. Guglielmini originally was charged with second-degree murder and filing a false report with law enforcement about Jung's death. The case relied heavily on informants at the Osceola County Jail. At least five state prison inmates who met Guglielmini while they were held at the jail agreed to testify he told them he killed 16-year-old Jung, whose body was found on June 23, 2011 near Guglielmini's home, according to court records.

HAINES CITY -- A 20-year-old St. Cloud man was killed in a crash Sunday night when a Jeep Wagoneer pulled out in front of his 2003 Honda on State Road 25 in Haines City. J. Christian Nicholas Otey of Rambler Avenue was pronounced dead at the scene after crashing into the rear driver's side of the Jeep, according to the Haines City Police Department. He was thrown from his car, which suffered extensive damage. He was not wearing a seat belt. Cynthia M. Strickland, 47, of Polk City, was traveling west from South Boulevard and was crossing State Road 25 when she pulled out in front of Otey, according to police reports.

A 19-year-old St. Cloud man was arrested Thursday in the near-fatal stabbing of another teen, police said. Jonathan Casey Jackson surrendered at the Police Department about 7:15 p.m., about a day after the stabbing. He was arrested on a charge of attempted murder. "He stabbed the kid and left," a tearful female caller told a dispatcher in a 911 call released Thursday. Jackson left the scene on Modena Street about 7 p.m. Wednesday in a silver Chevrolet Impala, the witness said.

A 21-year-old man, who St. Cloud Police say barricaded himself inside a home after fighting with his girlfriend, was charged with battery and false imprisonment early Wednesday. Police responded to a call about dating violence in the 1100 block of Maryland Avenue around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday, according to an incident report. By the time they arrived at the house, Michael Steven Chism had locked himself inside the home. The St. Cloud Police Department's SWAT and Hostage Negotiations teams made several attempts to force Chism to surrender, but he didn't budge, the report said..

The '60s were an heady time for space exploration. President John F. Kennedy fired the starter's pistol in the space race with a rousing speech about America's manifest space destiny: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. ... " Even so, by the time Neil Armstrong ventured his giant step, the moon was old news. Three years earlier, Major Matt Mason beat him to the punch. He and his intrepid team lived the lunar life, handling hostile ETs, doing America proud.

A St. Cloud man was arrested Tuesday after Osceola deputies said he performed thousands of dollars worth of illegal construction work for an 89-year-old St. Cloud man with dementia. The elderly man wrote checks totaling more than $25,000 between April and September for home-improvement projects performed by Charles Tracy Bailey or his employees, deputies said. Bailey, 52, is not a licensed contractor, but he worked as a personal assistant for the elderly man, he told deputies.

Osceola deputies Friday broke up a methamphetamine ring and arrested 19 people, they said. "Operation Big Meth Bass" captured people on charges including trafficking in psuedoephedrine — the cold-medicine that is an ingredient in meth. Other charges include conspiracy to traffic in methamphetamine and conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine. Those arrested ranged from an 18-year-old St. Cloud woman to a 45-year-old St. Cloud man and included Kissimmee residents. Investigators identified the ringleader as James A. Bass, 42, of St. Cloud.

Shawn Fleck is back in jail facing possibly his third prison sentence. The St. Cloud man's latest arrest involved the beating of an 84-year-old relative, who he is accused of knocking to the floor and repeatedly kicking her in the face early Tuesday, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office. Fleck, 34, ran away from the 17 t h Street home he shared with the victim but was taken into custody a short time later. The attack happened about 3 a.m. when deputies responded to a disturbance at the residence, records state.

The bones of a man found east of Orlando during a search for 6-year-old Regina Mae Armstrong were identified Friday as the remains of a missing Osceola County man.Cmdr. John Guemple of the Orange County Sheriff's Office said the bones were those of William Legg, 32, of St. Cloud, who was reported missing by his family in July of 1983. Guemple said Legg was identified using dental records.An autopsy did not reveal the cause of Legg's death, Guemple said, so the death still is being treated as suspicious.

A man being pursued by law-enforcement for crashing into an elementary school fence and reckless driving died after he was tased and handcuffed Wednesday morning, St. Cloud police reported. Police said that about 6:15 a.m., the suspect — 30-year-old Gerald F. Altomare Jr. — crashed a 1992 Chevrolet pickup truck into the fence at Ross E. Jeffries Elementary School on Vermont Avenue. A witness who called 911 after the crash told dispatchers Altomare was barreling down the road at about 60 mph with his horn blaring, according to a recording released Wednesday afternoon.

A Central Florida man accused of gunning down an Orlando motorist on Interstate 4 near Tampa will remain in jail, a judge ruled today. The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Jerome Edward Hayes, 48, of St. Cloud made his first appearance in court Tuesday morning before Hillsborough Circuit Judge Walter Heinrich. Hayes' attorney told the judge that he intended to argue for his client's release before trial. That request could be considered during a hearing next week. Hayes faces a first-degree murder charge.